


burn down everything we've begun

by heretowinbitch



Series: we may never work,  but my god are we good at pretending [6]
Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-29 15:47:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19403449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heretowinbitch/pseuds/heretowinbitch
Summary: anonymous asked:  Brio prompt: Beth is a thief and pickpockets Rio. He doesn’t realize until it’s too late. He finds her later and saves her from someone. Afterwards he lets her know she owes him for saving her life.---it’s over an hour,  two more drinks, and a few conversations not nearly as engaging as the one he’d had with elizabeth later when rio realizes his wallet  - while still being in his coat pocket ( or at least, placed back in his coat pocket ) - has been cleaned out, his chain is missing its pendant,  and his watch is missing. he doesn’t know how she did any of it without him noticing - perception is imperative in this business, rio prides himself on his own,  and missing something so completely is a bad sign - but knows for a fact there’s only one person it could have been - only one person he’d gotten close enough to tonight.“shit,”  he mutters at the lack of cash in his wallet





	burn down everything we've begun

**Author's Note:**

> so in my head this au starts out the same way as canon - same childhood, beth still marries dean, but she leaves him before they have kids ( i never got how she didn’t had a job since high school but their oldest kid was only 11… but anyway ) ruby is still married to stan with two kids and sara is still sick. beth and annie sort of fall into this life as thieves after their marriages end and and beth accidentally finds out how good she is at it.
> 
> anywho it's almost 4am and i haven't proofread so forgive any mistakes !

_ sitting duck _

_ running out of luck _

_ and our car's stuck on a train crossing _

_ how are we ever gonna know peace _

_ how will I ever see your light through the trees _

* * *

it’s not usually this easy.

typically, beth has to spend far too much time playing at being far too sweet ( or maybe… a little less than sweet, that perfect blend that makes them want to see just how bad the good girl can get ), doling out compliments and pretending to give a shit about whatever nonsense her mark is spouting.

normally, she’s so bored by the time she actually gets the score, that the disappointment at whatever he’d actually had stashed in his wallet makes her question her line of work.

it’s not usually this easy, but then, most of the men she targets are balding executives with beer bellies bigger than their bank accounts, and it’s all she can do to stop from cringing any time they attempt to sweet talk her.

_ this  _ mark? he’s more than easy on the eyes, young, and if she hadn’t gotten so good at spotting expensive gear ( shoes: $600, coat: $1,250, watch: oh, probably close to twenty grand ), beth would have never guessed he’d be the type. but unless he has a  _ very  _ wealthy benefactor — and she’d guess not by the way the host had immediately offered him a spot in their VIP section ( which he’d declined ) — then this guy is the real deal. 

“oh. my. god, i’m SO sorry,” she cries out as her vodka pours out of her glass, cascading down his side while beth makes a pretty good show of being a woman who simply can’t get both feet to cooperate, tripping over the leg of the stool next to him. he’s standing immediately, grabbing napkins that the bartender is helpfully supplying, and beth is  _ unhelpfully  _ patting down his front as though she could soak up the mess with one hand while the other is digging in the pocket of his coat where it lays draped over the stool he’d been sitting on ( not the way she’d treat a burberry, but then again, he’s probably too rich to care ). “i wasn’t watching where i was going, i’m really sorry, god i’m so clumsy.”

he has yet to say a word, or even look at her, but he grabs her wrist to stop her from her fruitless patting of his chest, and — for a moment — beth thinks she’s  _ caught  _ . he looks up then, apparently deciding the shirt is a lost cause, and releases his grip on her, fixing her with a look of cool indifference.

“it’s cool. just a shirt, yeah? got five more in this same color at home.”

now she’s thinking of a doug funny esque closet — rows and rows of the same shirt, pants, and jacket, and beth can’t stifle the laugh that rises up from her chest.

“somethin’ funny?” he asks her with a raised brow that accompanies a tone that means business, but she can see the amusement in his eyes, and the way his lips twitch at one corner, as if wanting to betray his attempts at this cold and hard demeanor. 

“nope, not funny,” she insists despite the way the giggles try to wrap around each word, giving away the lie before it’s even out there. she takes advantage of the lighter atmosphere between them to offer her introduction. “i’m bee.” it’s not a great codename, but annie had suggested it a while back when beth had switched from silent thief to actually engaging with the marks before making her move. it’s close enough to her name that it doesn’t catch her off guard when people use it, but it’s not enough to track back to her. beth extends a hand along with the introduction, and it’s only then that she notices the ink on his neck — difficult to make out in the dim lighting of the club — sprawling across his skin and for one absurd moment she longs to trace the lines with her finger. instead, she smiles brightly. 

“rio,” he offers after a moment’s hesitation, taking her proffered hand and shaking it firmly. that amusement still lingers, but now he’s looking at her curiously, as though he can’t quite figure her out. 

_ good  _ , beth thinks, releasing his hand and sliding in closer so that her side rests against the bar. she’s long since ceased her rummaging through his coat, but there’s more on him that’s worth her time, and besides — what’s the harm in a little flirtation with a man that looks  _ that  _ good. “well,  _ rio  _ — why don’t you let me buy you a drink,” she offers sweetly, leaning a little closer. “you know — as an apology for ruining one of your many black shirts.”

the way he looks at her, then — gaze raking over her from the top of her head to the tips of her toes and then back again, so intense that she’s sure he can see right through her just from the effort — makes beth shiver involuntarily despite the way her skin feels warm under his scrutiny. he hums, as if mulling it over, and that smirk that’s been threatening the corner of his mouth finally wins out by the time he meets her eyes. 

“how could anyone say no to an offer like that?”

she smiles again, and only partly because of the score.

* * *

“so, bee short for somethin’?”

it’s been an hour, more than a few drinks, and beth has managed to relieve him of — by her calculations — about fifteen grand worth of cash and goods, a pretty amazing haul compared to a normal night. he seems none the wiser ( apparently he has a running tab, and hasn’t been reaching for his cash to pay — he'd stopped allowing her to buy after the first round ) and she’s having a good time despite what she’s there to do. 

so maybe it’s that. maybe it’s the way laughter flows freely between them, the way she feels unusually comfortable in his presence. maybe it’s the pleasant sort of warmth that’s part due to the liquor and part due to the company. whatever the reason, without realizing what she’s doing, beth answers honestly. “elizabeth.”

he arches an eyebrow while sipping at his drink, and then follows the same movement as before — dragging his gaze slowly down her body and back up again. she’s flushed by the time he’s done, and if the way his eyes sparkle is any indication — the color in her cheeks has not escaped his notice. 

“elizabeth,” he tries it out quietly, leaning in a little, almost taking the breath from her lungs in his proximity. there’s something about the way his mouth forms the syllables — the way his voice caresses her name like it’s something special — that becomes too much, too quickly, and she has to suck in a steadying breath before downing the rest of her drink, slipping his wallet back into his coat pocket while he’s leaned in close. “suits you better than bee,” he adds thoughtfully, watching her all the while. there’s something in his eyes that she can’t quite read, and she wants to sit there and decipher it, pick him apart and put him back together before calling it a night.

what she really wants is to take him home, see if his hands can follow through with the promises his eyes have been making all night. but she’s here for work, not fun, and — task complete — beth starts to slide off of the stool, reaching for her purse.

“i should really get going — it’s late.” she’s still smiling, still giving him all that sugar to soothe the blow of finding out he’s been  _ robbed  _ later, but he’s standing with her, holding out his hand — not for her to shake again, but as if to guide.

“right, late, and dark, at least lemme walk you to your cab, or uber, or whatever.”

there’s a pointed edge to that, because she’s obviously a little tipsy ( at _ least  _ a little ), and beth would almost feel touched by the concern if she wasn’t suddenly feeling like she’s being parented by someone  _ clearly  _ her junior. she’s about to open her mouth to say just that, when he turns back to the bartender to tell him he’ll be back and to keep his tab open, and beth breathes a sigh of relief realizing she hadn’t even  _ considered  _ him grabbing for his wallet during this exchange. it's sloppy, the way she's gotten so wrapped up in him that she's lost focus, and she silently chastises herself for that. he's just some guy that she'll never see again, no reason to lose her head.

“that’s really not necessary,” beth offers belatedly, but he’s reaching for her hand with brows raised in challenge, and she huffs out an overly dramatic sigh that deteriorates into laughter as he uses his grip on her hand to pull her toward him until she’s flush against his side. he only releases her hand to wrap an arm around her waist, instead.

“maybe not,” he shrugs, and beth can feel the motion all through her body, every part of her sparking where they touch, even through their clothes. “but maybe i get a few more minutes with you, and maybe i convince you to gimme your number.” 

she blinks up at him just as they get to the coat check, and she hands over her ticket mindlessly. this had been fun, sure, but there are a hundred reasons why she’d never expected him to ask for her number. one — she’s obviously much older than him, two and partly related to one — he’s definitely out of her league, three — he’s wearing ( or  _ was  _ wearing ) a watch that probably cost more than a full year’s rent for beth, and so on and so forth. she scoffs.

“ah, that’s very cute, but i think maybe we leave this one here, okay?” she can feel the color rush to her cheeks again as he helps her into her coat, and beth’s fingers grip the strap of her purse a little more tightly once she has it situated on her shoulder, feeling like she needs to be doing something with her hands. 

“aight, then,” he says quietly after a pause during which she thinks he’d maybe been considering a protest, or ready to deny the  _ cute  _ factor ( and, really, it had been the wrong word, but still.. ) as he holds open the door, and beth almost thinks she notes a bit of disappointment in his tone, in his eyes. but no, that’s ridiculous. 

it’s not until the cold air threatens to slice right through the fabric of her coat that she realizes she hasn’t even requested a car yet. beth fumbles with her phone, finding the app and tapping in the address for the club as he leans against what she assumes is his car, and pointedly looks away from her.

“you really don’t have to wait out here with me in the cold, you know, the car will be here in ———” she submits the request, waits for the confirmation, and nods, smiling back up at him. “four minutes. i’ll be fine.”

he’s in her space almost immediately, and there’s something almost predatory about the way he crowds her, the way his gaze grabs onto hers and holds fast. his jaw tenses then relaxes, and for a moment she thinks maybe he’s  _ angry  _ , like maybe she’s been made and he’s just been biding his time to call her out on her treachery when there’s no one around to witness it. but he doesn’t yell or demand the return of his stuff, simply raises a hand to push a lock of hair out of her eyes and tuck it behind her ear, his fingertips lingering on her skin and seemingly burning right through the chill that had settled there. somewhere in the moment, beth had forgotten to  _ breathe  _ , and she exhales slowly now, watching his eyes as they seem to hone in on her lips, and suddenly she’s never wanted anything the way she wants him to kiss her right then and there in the parking lot.

the moment is broken as a gaggle of young girls pours out of the club doors, laughing and carrying on so loudly that beth actually flinches at the sound, causing rio’s hand to drop from her face, and his jaw to tense again. he meets her eyes then, hands finding their way to the pockets of his coat as he regards her carefully, again looking like he’s trying to figure out the mystery of her, and — seemingly finding it hopeless — he sighs.

“right, well, maybe i’ll see you around, then, yeah?”

she smiles, knowing he won’t, knowing that the next time they hit this same club it’ll be annie in her place — they always rotate locations in order to avoid suspicion — and even then, it’ll be months from now.

“yeah,” beth says easily, lying through her teeth, smile bright and seemingly anticipatory.

he almost smiles back.

her uber pulls up — some college girl behind the wheel a blue honda civic that has a decal of a cartoon character in the window, and beth idly wonders what the requirements even are to drive for ride share services like this.

the feeling must be mutual, because when she turns back rio is looking at the car and shaking his head.

“thanks for the drink,” he says finally, when the silence seems awkward and there’s no reason to linger in it any longer. beth readjusts her purse on her shoulder as she reaches for the handle of the car door, smiling back at him when he adds — “see you soon, elizabeth.”

and she’s a little disappointed that she won’t.

* * *

it’s over an hour, two more drinks, and a few conversations not nearly as engaging as the one he’d had with elizabeth later when rio realizes his wallet — while still being in his coat pocket ( or at least, placed back in his coat pocket ) — has been cleaned out, his chain is missing its pendant, and his watch is missing. he doesn’t know how she did any of it without him noticing — perception is imperative in this business, rio prides himself on his own, and missing something so completely is a bad sign — but knows for a fact there’s only one person it could have been — only one person he’d gotten close enough to tonight. 

“shit,” he mutters at the lack of cash in his wallet, tossing something he rarely uses — a credit card — to the bartender. he scribbles his name on the receipt, leaving a hefty tip, and storms out of the club. 

“you good, boss?” carlos mirrors his own tension the moment he sees him, as though he’s going to have to bash in someone’s kneecaps and hadn’t really been prepared for violence this evening. rio shakes his head, huffing out his frustration. he racks his brain to think back on what she might have told him that he could use to find her — her name ( but it could be a fake ), that she’s got a sister ( not the most helpful ), and — wait, some shit about her ex being a used car salesman. that’s gotta narrow it down a bit.

“yeah, i’m good,” he slides into the passenger seat of the car feeling anything but good, letting carlos take the wheel. he’s got plans to make and too much liquor in his system to be driving, the small piece of the puzzle makes him feel a little better, it’s a starting point, at least. “i’ve gotta find someone, but it’ll wait ‘til tomorrow.” let her think she got off scot free, let her revel in her  _ winnings  _ for the night. he’ll show  _ elizabeth  _ what happens when people steal from him.

* * *

it takes him longer than he’d expected to find her, thinking this woman who’d played him like a  _ fool  _ to be living in some rundown apartment, maybe using her score to pay for some addiction or other had led him to look in the wrong places. he _ certainly  _ hadn't thought he'd find her in a suburban townhouse with a small garden that looks carefully tended to, and the kind of curb appeal people in his line of work usually don't care about. he’d tracked down her ex husband — she’d only mentioned him briefly, and only in the context of explaining why sales pitches never work for her ( after some idiot had tried to flirt with her as though she wasn’t practically on rio’s  _ lap  _ with how close they’d been to one another ) — but he’s good at what he does, and sometimes that means rooting out problems before they can fester and grow into disasters.

elizabeth marks — formerly boland — is a problem, but he’s not going to give her an inch to grow into a disaster, not just because he’d fallen into her trap and let her in close enough to get her hands on his shit. 

so here’s what he knows about her, now. she apparently divorced her lowlife husband after a string of infidelity and the loss of the money they had put away for a down payment on a house. she’d gotten zilch from the divorce — since there wasn’t anything left — and hadn’t had much of an employment history under her belt. she’s sharing a place with her sister, who works at a grocery store as a cashier, and there’s no way in hell the two of them can afford the place legitimately, not on top of any other expenses. none of this is public knowledge, but he knows someone  _ everywhere  _ , and apparently annie marks — the  _ sister  _ ( and probably partner in crime ) — has lips looser than elizabeth’s ex husband’s pants, and once he’d sent eddie in to do a little recon, she’d spilled the beans about her sister without a second thought.

it had almost been too easy.

so it should be equally easy to walk up to the door and demand his money back, wave his gun in her face and show elizabeth that he means business.

instead, he sits there in his car, watching, like a kid with a crush hoping to get a glimpse of his girl.  _ pathetic  _ . he groans, leaning his head against the steering wheel, just in time for the door to open.

she’s wrapped up in some floral robe that’s barely tied over what he thinks is a dress — short enough that her legs peek out of the fabric as she steps down to grab a package from the steps. her hair is up in a towel but she’s already got makeup on and he wonders, bitterly, if she’s prepping for another night on the town, another score, another  _ fool  _ .

yeah, marching up to her now — gun in hand — might be effective in scaring her, but she could feign innocence, plead with him, and he knows a part of him is already considering letting her off the hook, knows part of him wants her to invite him inside her house, her bedroom, her body instead. how had she gotten under his skin so completely in such a short amount of time? he’s better than this, has always been better than this, and this sudden  _ weakness  _ is making him uncomfortable. his teeth clench as he watches her smooth her free hand down the front of the robe before steadying the towel that’s wrapped around her head, and he makes a decision.

he’ll just catch her in the act.

* * *

normally, scoring nearly twenty grand ( ‘cause that’s what it ended up being, even after finding out the pendant was worthless and inevitably losing value for the watch being second hand ) would mean a break in the game for a while. but this time it isn’t for her, or annie, or their rent, or anything selfish. this time, beth’s best friend ruby is in dire need of funds for her little girl whose kidneys are failing too fast for medicine to help. this time, they’re pooling together everything they can to help their friend, and that means working overtime.

“okay, so i’m going to go to that new place down on adams, and you’re going to the one with the rooftop bar that, um, what’s his name —” beth is snapping her fingers in the air as she tries to grasp onto the name that seems just there on the tip of her tongue, but keeps eluding her.

“eddie,” annie supplies helpfully, with that dreamy look in her eyes that makes beth cringe. she’s surprised her sister even  _ remembers  _ the guy’s name, but knowing annie that means he was pretty memorable. she doesn’t want to think about it.

“right, the place that eddie told you about.” a pause and then — “he’s not going to be there, right?” beth asks, her head whipping around to catch her sister’s eye, suddenly concerned. they’ve been running this game for a while now, but that doesn’t mean they can ever let their guard down, and annie inviting some guy she barely knows to a club where she’s meant to be searching for something worth  _ stealing  _ is bad form and not the smartest decision.

“ _ relax  _ , sis. he’s working tonight. but i  _ might  _ go by his place after, if you know what i’m sayin’.” she couples this with two waggling eyebrows, and beth groans in disgust.

“ew, annie, t — m — i,” she says, emphasizing each letter before she turns back to the mirror, touching up the point of one wing of her eyeliner. once satisfied, beth steps back and admires her work. she still has smile lines at the corner of her eyes and lips, and she’s not fooling anyone into thinking she’s a young woman, anymore, but she looks good. “okay, what do you think?”

slipping the robe off of her shoulders, she reveals the little black dress that’s barely appropriate with the slit up the left side and the way her cleavage all but spills out of it. she’d never have worn something like this out when she was with dean, but this isn’t about finding a date, it’s about getting someone distracted enough that stealing from them is the easy part. annie lets out a long whistle and shakes her head.

“you sure you’re gonna be able to keep everything in there?” she’s laughing as she asks, leaning in to touch up her own makeup in the mirror even though she has her very own mirror in her very own bedroom, just down the hall. they’d moved in together after both of their marriages fell apart, it just made more sense, and besides — on two incomes ( even before the stealing ) they could afford a much nicer place than what either woman could pull off alone. “i mean, it would be a shame if you’re making your getaway and the girls just bounce right out.” this is illustrated by some wild hand gestures that beth can’t really decipher, isn’t sure she  _ wants  _ to, and she just rolls her eyes, pulling her hair out of the curlers and combing them into soft waves. 

“i’m not going to be  _ running  _ from anyone annie, and they’re secure, don’t worry.” though she does adjust her bra a bit — stuff them back in a little more firmly — even as she says it, and annie smirks at her in the mirror.

* * *

he sets demon on beth’s tail the moment she gets in her uber to leave, ignoring the younger sister because he doesn’t really give a shit, and has a feeling eddie will be hanging around anyway. rio has other business to attend to first, and he knows she’ll probably take her time to find her mark. 

bitterly, he wonders how long she’d been watching  _ him  _ before spilling her drink on his shirt. she has to have a good eye for these things — and maybe she gets a little bit of begrudging respect as he thinks on it, knowing that he’d been dressed conservatively, all things considered, and someone would have to really know their shit to know what it was all worth. 

he shakes his head, pulling away from his spot across the street and turning in the opposite direction to meet with a client. as much as he wants to watch her work, rio’s got other shit to handle tonight, and elizabeth will have to wait. besides, demon can handle it if he needs to — he’s just hoping he won’t need to.

* * *

there is exactly  _ one  _ guy worth her time in this place, and beth spots him immediately. he’s too obvious about it — donned in thick gold chains and a flashy suit that screams  _ look at me, i’m rich  _ . normally, she’d pass him over for the more subtle choices — her mind goes unbidden to a few nights earlier, and her meeting with rio ( she tells herself it’s  _ nothing  _ when her whole body reacts to the memories ) — but it’s slim pickins tonight, and she has to take what she can get. 

his name is don — short for donald, but he tells her it’s because he’s a  _ boss  _ as he winks, looking her over salaciously in a way that makes her feel disgusting, not good in the way she had under rio’s scrutiny. beth has to stifle a roll of her eyes, opting for a girlish giggle instead, as though she’s eating up every word he feeds her, like a woman starved. he makes it clear early on that he wants to get her alone, and she cringes inwardly at the thought of this guy with his paws all over her in a dark corner of the club. she can do it, though, if it means relieving him of his cash — so far he’s been somehow maneuvering in a way that has given her  _ no openings  _ in that respect. and she  _ has to  _ , beth thinks bitterly, because otherwise the whole night has been a waste of her time. she’ll get the money, and get out, before things go too far — it’s a club, not a hotel room, and the lack of privacy is a perfect excuse to duck out early.

except he doesn’t stop at the back of the club, where rows of booths sit away from the crowd, a little more private, the lighting a little dimmer. instead, he tugs at her hand where it sits inside his, pulling her toward the door.

“where are we going? there’s a booth right here,” beth purrs as she gives resistance to the tug of her arm. she can already sense his frustration at the way she stalls, and he turns back to look at her with barely contained impatience.

“my car’s just outside, doll, let’s leave the noise behind.” there’s something about his tone that doesn’t sit right, causing warning bells to go off in her head. this is the first real apprehension she’s felt since walking into the place tonight, but the parking lot is well lit, there’s a bouncer at the back door — what’s the worst that can happen?

“oh, okay,” she says with a smile, trying to force some brightness into her tone. but in the back of her mind all she’s thinking is  _ this better be worth it  _ .

* * *

MESSAGES

2 unread

**demon:**

_ they got the good tequila.  _

_ shit  _ . rio glances down at his phone as he slows to a stop at a red light. he’s about five minutes from the club and tequila means  _ trouble  _ in the code they use when they’re not on burners. 

**demon** :

_ should i order a round? _

he thinks on it, worrying his lip for a moment while the cross traffic goes by. his fingers tap impatiently on the steering wheel while the question stares up at him from where the phone sits on his knee, waiting on his reply. 

**sms to demon:**

_ nah, i wanna see what else they got. don’t order yet. be there in 5. _

he hits the gas a little harder than necessary when the light goes green. 

* * *

there’s no car  _ just outside  _ , and beth’s apprehension evolves into full panic as don hands the bouncer a twenty and she hears the lock click into place once the door closes behind them. the parking lot is well lit, but the shadows creep into the space near the back door, crawling over a small alcove that probably serves as a place for employees to smoke during breaks, and it’s around a corner — presumably so that no one pulling into the lot would see. 

her heart is in her throat when he releases her hand, gripping her upper arm instead, his hold on her turning harsh and bruising. it thuds loudly in a rhythm that matches her fear when he uses that same grip as leverage to slam her back against the brick wall, and the air rushes out of her lungs in one burst that joins the yelp of pain she lets out on impact. 

“you think you’re clever, huh? think you flash your tits and what — i let you take from me, like you earned something by flaunting your shit?” he’s growling the words against her ear, pinning her against the wall with his body and she shakes her head, only pushing back against him for a short time before the mass of him proves to be far too solid, not giving even a miniscule amount at her fighting. 

“i don’t know what you’re talking about, i thought we were having fun!” her voice is impressively steady considering the way her whole body feels like its trembling. he laughs at her, somehow finding the whole thing amusing, and beth thinks maybe she can use that to her advantage, maybe she can get out of this with — if not the money, at least her life. but before she opens her mouth to pour on the honey, before she can say  _ anything  _ else, he pulls out a gun, and she sucks in a sharp breath as it finds its way under her chin.

“please,” she whispers, and there’s nothing steady about it now, nothing strong except the way she holds his gaze — as though maybe looking her in the eye will make him have second thoughts.  _ no  _ , beth thinks, this isn’t the type of guy who has empathy, he’s not the kind of guy who cares who she is or who might miss her. this is the kind of guy who gets what he wants and destroys whatever stands in his way. 

“oh, i like it when they beg,” he chuckles darkly, in a way that makes her stomach turn, and beth has to force her expression into one resembling calm lest she fall apart before his eyes. whatever happens here, she will  _ not  _ do that.

* * *

something about this whole scene has rio on edge. he’d come to teach her a lesson, and yet his nerves are running like a live wire with apprehension surrounding whatever  _ trouble  _ she’s in as he approaches the club. demon is waiting for him outside, skirting the lights of the parking lot and hanging back in the shadows, but he can clearly see the tension in the way he holds himself.

“what’s up?”

before answering, demon inclines his head toward the back of the building. “don’s got her.” rio’s gaze follows the same direction, but he can’t make anything out through the shadows. he can hear voices, though — faint at this distance — and figures they’re standing beyond where the light touches, just like he and demon are now, but on the other side of the lot. 

he turns back, brow raised in silent question, and demon continues. “guess he was the mark. i dunno, man, seemed cozy ‘til he dragged her ass out here.” his voice is hushed, but rio can still see the tense way about him, and beckons with a hand for him to get on with it. “he must’ve figured out her game, got a gun on her and shit,” a pause, and he turns an uneasy look toward the shadows again before not quite meeting rio’s gaze. he’s nervous, apparently, but don’s not part of a rival gang, he’s just a solo act who thinks he’s hot shit. “i was just thinkin’ — maybe we let this problem sort itself out.”

and he’ll admit, there’s a moment there where he actually considers it. thinks he can wash his hands of this whole situation with one hothead idiot holding a gun, and rio won’t even have to tell him to pull the trigger. the moment fades pretty quickly.

“nah, don ain’t nothin’. last thing we need is him makin’ waves out here with some suburban bitch over a couple grand.” more than a couple, where rio had been concerned, but where he’s all subdued and lowkey about his money, don is flashy for someone who’s small potatoes. he doubts the guy has much cash on him at all. he scoffs, shaking his head. “watch my back.”

* * *

there are few things beth regrets in life — marrying dean ( she’d fixed that mistake, eventually ), the tattoo on her hip that she let annie talk her into after the divorces were finalized, and picking  _ this guy  _ as her mark for tonight. everything else — even the stealing — not so much. she’s done what was necessary to keep the people she cares about afloat, and despite where it seems things are going to end up, beth thinks she’s done an okay job at that.

in what she assumes are her last minutes alive — staring into the eyes of this bloodthirsty thug while his gun presses uncomfortably against her jaw — beth is worrying about ruby, and about what’s going to happen to sara now that this job is falling through. she can’t rely on annie continuing this stuff without her guidance, especially not after finding out her sister’s brains were splattered against the wall of a club  _ because  _ of this stuff. there has to be another solution, and there’s no time to come up with and relay it to her. and then there’s annie, herself. she won’t be able to afford the townhouse on her income alone, she’ll probably fall back into bad habits with greg, and then what? beth is leaving everyone high and dry, and maybe that’s the biggest regret of all.

it takes her a moment to snap out of it — call it a coping mechanism, call it something else, but she’d apparently checked out completely — enough to realize that don has been talking to her, and beth focuses on the tail end of something that sounds like “...when people fuck me over?”

“sorry, what?” she asks sincerely, but can see the rage as it covers his face in a mask of red, and this is the end, beth thinks, these are her final moments.

except, then she hears laughter coming from somewhere to her right, and beth’s eyes slide in the direction of the sound, searching for its source.

she’s not sure what she’d expected, but she certainly  _ hadn’t  _ expected rio. by the tightened grip on her arm, she thinks don hadn’t either, and maybe isn’t particularly happy to see him. her curiosity almost gets the best of her, almost lets out something like  _ you two know each other?  _ ( because what are the odds ? ) before don is speaking again.

“listen, man, this don’t concern you one bit. go inside and have some fun and i’ll buy you a drink when i’m done with this bitch.” 

beth hasn’t taken her eyes off of rio since his arrival, and she watches him carefully now, exceedingly curious as to what he might do. he has to know she’s the one that stole from him the other night, has to know she’s not exactly who she’d portrayed herself to be. what does he care if her last day on earth ends right here?

and he doesn’t seem to — care, that is. in fact, she’d describe the expression on his face as  _ amused  _ , if nothing else. he’s amused as he looks her over with nothing more than a perfunctory examination, as though she’s no concern of his, a decorative piece situated against the wall. he’s amused when he shifts to look at don, instead, giving him the same kind of once—over, but there’s something about that — something that doesn’t sit quite right. she wants to latch onto that, pick it apart, question everything about him, but there’s no time for that.

“yeah, thing is, it  _ does  _ concern me.” don looks bored of this, if not a little bit curious as rio speaks, and he pivots his body slightly to get a better look at him, but doesn’t lesson his grip — she’ll definitely have bruises tomorrow if she survives this. “yeah, see, me an’ her had a run—in a few nights ago, i figure you’ve already figured out what she’s about?” her  _ date  _ nods, and she thinks maybe there’s something bitter in rio’s eyes, like he’s annoyed that someone like don would have figured her out where he’d failed. and maybe there’s a bit of satisfaction at knowing that, but beth is more concerned now with how it’s all going to play out in the end.

“right,” he’s stepping closer now, and don pushes the gun harder against beth’s jaw, causing her to suck in a breath. the sound draws rio’s eyes for a fraction of a second, just enough for her to catch a flash behind them, and she thinks — but  _ no  _ , she had to have misread it. “so how ‘bout i take her off your hands, yeah? guessin’ she ain’t had a chance to get her hands on your shit yet, but see — she  _ owes me  _ .” 

for the first time, she turns back to look at don, and beth can see the war raging on behind his eyes. there’s a part of him that wants to finish what he came out here to do, but another part of him — maybe a bigger part — is  _ scared  _ . it fuels her curiosity yet again, and beth wonders what the hell kind of men she’s gotten mixed up with, and what rio’s capable of to make a guy like don — bigger, and weilding a  _ weapon  _ — afraid of him.

when she lets her eyes find rio again, he’s adjusting his shirt, and she can see it now, his own gun — a clear warning — sticking out from the waistband of his jeans, and beth swallows, waiting, her entire body frozen in anticipation.

it feels like an age between that question, and don’s resulting answer. it comes less in verbal response, and more in the way he backs away from her, releasing his grip on her arm, and pulling the gun from her skin all in one fell swoop. the absence of his body pinning her to the wall causes beth to collapse to the ground, catching herself on her hands against the gravel of the lot, and heaving breaths that are part in relief and part her body’s reaction to the panic that’s been rising within her. 

she doesn’t have much time to process the scene that’s just played before her because rio’s at her side, hauling her up with a hand under her arm, pressing harshly against the already tender skin where don had been holding onto her moments before. she hisses out a breath at the contact and outwardly nothing seems to change, but his grip lessens slightly. 

“next time maybe find somewhere more private, yeah?” he tosses back toward where don stands looking rattled, but the guy nods slowly all the same. to beth, he whispers “c’mon,” before all but dragging her toward the other end of the parking lot. it’s all she can do to keep up with him, trying to tug down the hem of her dress with her free hand. he doesn’t look at her, but she can see the way tension runs the line of his jaw, anger vibrating off of him. 

“where are we going?” she manages finally, just before noticing another form emerging from the shadows, and beth stops in her tracks, almost tripping forward as rio continues to walk, her arm in his hand. he turns back to glare at her, catching her line of sight, and rolls his eyes.

“he’s one of mine, c’mon,” and this time it’s more demanding, less a whisper and more a bark, and beth’s feet won’t move.

“that’s not very reassuring, considering,” she mutters, inclining her head back toward the club, and he rolls his eyes again. he tugs on her arm impatiently so that she does trip forward this time, and then they’re on the sidewalk and she spots a car parked not far down. “where are we  _ going  _ ?” beth asks again, her own voice more demanding, but also a little more frantic.

they get to the car, and he yanks open the door with his free hand, pushing her toward the back seat. “ _ you  _ are going home.” her eyes dart from the open car door, to rio, to his guy standing by, and her brain isn’t making sense of it all. the delay is clearly working at his patience, but he shoves his hands in his pockets and takes a step closer, into her space, until beth has to tilt her head back to look up at him. “elizabeth, go home.” 

and none of it makes any sense. his presence here, the gun, why he’d saved her when he knows what she is and what she did to him. but if this is a second chance, what choice does she have but to take it. “thank you,” she stutters out on a halted breath and  _ apparently  _ this is funny, because he starts laughing, and there’s something cruel and cold about the sound that makes her flinch back and away from it. 

“whatchu think this is? a rescue?” her eyes widen because  _ yes  _ , that’s what she’d thought, that’s it had seemed like, it’s what he’d done, hadn’t he? he must note the puzzlement on her face and sobers quickly, standing there waiting for her to get into the car. without much choice, she does, sliding gingerly onto the seat and tugging her dress down again, feeling suddenly too exposed under his gaze.

for a long time, time seems suspended between them. she peers up at him and he stares down at her, both keeping their silence. beth thinks she sees that heat again — the same heat from the last time they’d seen one another, and it threatens to burn her here just like it had that night. and just like that night, it’s broken by a sound beyond them, and she realizes it’s his ...friend? colleague? whoever he is, opening the car door. rio turns to him, nods, and after a minute the other man climbs into the driver’s seat. 

“oh, and elizabeth?” beth’s eyes refocus on rio, and he smiles at her — but there’s nothing warm about it. “i wasn’t playin’ back there. you  _ do  _ owe me, and one way or another — i’m comin’ to collect.”

with that, and before she has time to respond or ask the hundred questions crowding into her head, before she has a chance to even  _ process  _ his words, he swings the door shut and the car immediately pulls away from the curb.

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i know this sort of ends in a way that leaves it open for continuation, and there's a possibility for that in the future, but i currently have too many multi-chapter fics unfinished so i don't want to make promises for another at the moment.
> 
> as always, kudos/comments/concrit/prompts are always welcome!


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